Southwest Florida's growers are feeling the hurt from Hurricane Irma — and consumers will soon feel their pain at the supermarket.

The storm flooded fields and groves, blew oranges to the ground, twisted protective plastic, broke drip irrigation pipes and tubes, and destroyed vegetable plants. Growers are still struggling to get water off their fields and groves.

The damage could be felt for some time in supermarkets and on consumers' tables. Fruit and vegetables will be in shorter supply from Southwest Florida and other parts of Florida hit by Irma — and that will translate to higher prices in the grocery aisles for everything from tomatoes to orange juice.

The destruction is enough to bring tears to Gene McAvoy's eyes, and it did several times Tuesday as he surveyed the region's farms and ranches, even though he knows it could have been much worse if Irma had stayed a Category 4 or 5 storm with even higher winds.

Kalen Kivodeaux, 16, left, and his brother Ivan, 13, clear debris from outside their grandmother Lisa Daniels front yard as residents begin to assess and repair damage from Hurricane Irma to their homes Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. just south of Everglades City. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Engineers asses damage done to the bridge connecting Everglades City, Fla. and the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. early Tuesday, September 12, 2017. The bridge was closed to residents until the afternoon Tuesday. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Lisa Daniels quickly scans through her home on the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. that had been covered in a thick layer of mud by a foot or more of storm surge from Hurricane Irma Tuesday, September 12, 2017. "It's overwhelming. I just don't know where to start," Daniels said. "I got to get help from FEMA." Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Lisa Daniels quickly scans through her home on the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. that had been covered in a thick layer of mud by a foot or more of storm surge from Hurricane Irma Tuesday, September 12, 2017. "It's overwhelming. I just don't know where to start," Daniels said. "I got to get help from FEMA." Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Lisa Daniels quickly scans through her home on the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. that had been covered in a thick layer of mud by a foot or more of storm surge from Hurricane Irma Tuesday, September 12, 2017. "It's overwhelming. I just don't know where to start," Daniels said. "I got to get help from FEMA." Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Bella Almarez, 5, outside her family's home that backs up to a canal Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in Chokoloskee, Fla. The Almarez's, a family of five, rode out the storm at a hotel in Georgia but returned to an unlivable home. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Ramon Almarez, center, along with his wife Aneioka and their daughter Bella, 5, not shown, check on their home which had been caked in a thick layer of mud due to storm surge from Hurricane Irma. "We don't know where we're gonna go right now," Mrs. Almarez said. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Ramon and Anieoka Almarez, along with their daughter Bella, 5, check on their home which had been caked in a thick layer of mud due to storm surge from Hurricane Irma. "We don't know where we're gonna go right now," Mrs. Almarez said. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Ramon and Anieoka Almarez bag clothes to save and take with them as they plan to stay the night at a family member's home in Everglades City on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Chokoloskee, Fla. "We don't know where we're going to go right now," Anieoka Almarez said. The Almarezes' home was ruined by Hurricane Irma. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Dwain Daniels, 81, sits inside his home after a long day of ripping up soaked carpets and other damage from Hurricane Irma Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in Chokoloskee, Fla. Daniels, along with his son Shane rode the storm out inside the home. "We lived through Donna, Wilma, and Andrew." Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Dwain Daniels, 81, sits inside his home after a long day of ripping up soaked carpets and other damage from Hurricane Irma Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in Chokoloskee, Fla. Daniels, along with his son Shane rode the storm out inside the home. "We lived through Donna, Wilma, and Andrew." Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Lynn McMillin, Director of the Ted Smallwood Store, points out the minimal damage inflicted on the building from Hurricane Irma Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in Chokoloskee, Fla. The building, built in 1906, has been tested for over one-hundred years and has stood the test of time. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Lynn McMillin, Director of the Ted Smallwood Store, points out the minimal damage inflicted on the building from Hurricane Irma Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in Chokoloskee, Fla. The building, built in 1906, has been tested for over one-hundred years and has stood the test of time. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Lynn McMillin, Director of the Ted Smallwood Store, points out the minimal damage inflicted on the building from Hurricane Irma Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in Chokoloskee, Fla. The building, built in 1906, has been tested for over one-hundred years and has stood the test of time. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

A helicopter with the United States Navy flies over Chokoloskee, Fla. to assess damage as residents begin to repair damage done to their homes Tuesday, September 12, 2017. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Supplies, courtesy of the American Red Cross, are distributed by the National Guard at Fire Station 60 in Everglades City, Fla. in the late afternoon Tuesday, September 12, 2017. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Ivan Kivodeaux, 13, washes his hands after clearing debris from outside his grandmother Lisa Daniels' front yard Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. just south of Everglades City. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Residents begin to assess and repair damage done to their homes and surrounding properties Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. just south of Everglades City. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Residents begin to assess and repair damage done to their homes and surrounding properties Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. just south of Everglades City. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Residents begin to assess and repair damage done to their homes and surrounding properties Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. just south of Everglades City. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Residents begin to assess and repair damage done to their homes and surrounding properties Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. just south of Everglades City. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Residents begin to assess and repair damage done to their homes and surrounding properties Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. just south of Everglades City. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Residents begin to assess and repair damage done to their homes and surrounding properties Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. just south of Everglades City. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Residents begin to assess and repair damage done to their homes and surrounding properties Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. just south of Everglades City. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Brandon Pervis, 12, pokes at a crab along the shoreline on his grandmother's rental property Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. just south of Everglades City. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

Residents begin to assess and repair damage done to their homes and surrounding properties Tuesday, September 12, 2017 in the small island community of Chokoloskee, Fla. just south of Everglades City. Luke Franke/Naples Daily News

McAvoy, a multicounty vegetable agent with the University of Florida/IFAS, has been in Southwest Florida since 1989 and has lived in LaBelle since 1997.

"These are my friends. I've gone to their weddings. I've seen their babies born and gone to their funerals. It's my family," he said.

At a West Coast Tomato farm just north of Immokalee, McAvoy found out 524 acres of plastic laid for tomato plantings was a "total loss." That equates to more than $1 million in losses, he said, which doesn't include the 25 acres of plants that sat under the plastic and blew away.

The losses will set the farm back three weeks to a month on its planting schedule. "It's going to be an extensive amount of work just to get it redone," McAvoy said.

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Macrina Cruz cooks the last of her family's food on a propane-heated portable stove in front of her Immokalee home on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Cruz's family evacuated before the storm and planned on buying more food there, but many stores were out or had raised their prices. Since Immokalee lost power when Hurricane Irma hit on Sunday, people have lost the food in their refrigerators and have not been able to cook what is left. Many families didn't stock up on nonperishables before the hurricane, as it is advised, because they didn't have the extra funds or because stores ran out. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

Josh Edison kisses his daughter Kai'ana, 1, as his family cooks the last of their food on their grill at Edison's mother's Immokalee home on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Edison's mother, Loretha, says she knew she should have stocked up on food and water before the hurricane but she didn't have the money. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

Valcin al Tidor looks at the spoiled food in his freezer in his Immokalee home on Monday, Sept. 12, 2017. All of the food in his home has gone bad and the last time he had a meal was on Saturday. Tidor has a little money in the bank but no bank card, and since the banks are closed, he cannot get more money for food. He is also on food stamps but there is no store open that accepts them. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

Josh Edison cooks the last of his mother's food at her Immokalee home on their grill on Monday, Sept. 12, 2017. Edison's mother, Loretha, says she knew she should have stocked up on food and water before the hurricane but she didn't have the money. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

Loretha Hughes kisses her granddaughter Kai'ana Edison, 1, as her family cooks the last of their food at her Immokalee home on their grill on Monday, Sept. 12, 2017. Hughes says she knew she should have stocked up on food and water before the hurricane but she didn't have the money. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

Valcin al Tidor, right, and his family sit outside of their Immokalee home on Monday, Sept. 12, 2017. All of the food in his home has gone bad and the last time he had a meal was on Saturday. Tidor has a little money in the bank but no bank card, and since the banks are closed, he cannot get more money for food. He is also on food stamps but there is no store open that accepts them. Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News

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For area vegetable growers, harvesting usually begins by mid-October, and a primary mission is to have plenty of vegetables in the market for Thanksgiving, one of their most lucrative times of the year when there isn't as much competition from other U.S. regions or other countries, namely Mexico.

"We'll be lucky to hit the Christmas market this year," McAvoy said.

Farmers, who have little if any insurance because it's so expensive, are feeling overwhelmed, even hopeless, McAvoy said. One smaller grower he visited just outside LaBelle, who grows dragon fruit, has 2 feet of water covering her plants.

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Gary Wright, 66, assesses the damage from Hurricane Irma outside his home in Carribean Park, a mobile home community for seniors in North Naples, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Hurricane Irma caused severe flooding and damage to mobile homes and trailers in North Naples. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily News

Gary Wright, 66, stands outside his flooded home in Carribean Park, a mobile home community for seniors in North Naples, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Hurricane Irma caused severe flooding and damage to mobile homes and trailers in North Naples. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily News

Steve Miller, 63, stands outside his flooded home in Carribean Park, a mobile home community for seniors in North Naples, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Hurricane Irma caused severe flooding and damage to mobile homes and trailers in North Naples. "This is all I have in the world right here," he said, as he held back tears. "But I'm thankful for what I still have rather than what I don't." Miller had just returned to his mobile home after waiting out the Hurricane in an RV in an Orlando Walmart parking lot. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily

Eileen Shepard, 60, stands next to a tree that fell onto her home at Landmark Naples, a mobile home community for seniors in North Naples, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Two of the branches punctured her roof. "I can't believe I have a tree in my bedroom," she said. Shepard said she doesn't have any savings or insurance and doesn't know how she's going to pay for the repairs. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily News

Eileen Shepard, 60, stands in her bedroom at Landmark Naples where a tree branch punctured her roof Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. "I can't believe I have a tree in my bedroom," she said. Shepard said she doesn't have any savings or insurance and doesn't know how she's going to pay for the repairs. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily

Eileen Shepard, 60, points a flashlight at a tree branch that punctured her bathroom wall in her home at Landmark Naples on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Shepard said she doesn't have any savings or insurance and doesn't know how she's going to pay for the repairs. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily

Eileen and William Shepard have their mattresses set up in their living room in their North Naples mobile home Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. A 40-foot tree fell onto their bedroom roof from high winds brought on by Hurricane Irma. Outside, their dog Sunny peers in. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily

High winds from Hurricane Irma blew the roof off a mobile home at Lake San Marino RV resort in North Naples, as seen on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Hurricane Irma caused severe flooding and damage to mobile homes and trailers in North Naples. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily News

High winds from Hurricane Irma blew the roof off a mobile home at Lake San Marino RV resort in North Naples as seen on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Hurricane Irma caused severe flooding and damage to mobile homes and trailers in North Naples. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily

A teddy bear lays beneath displaced furniture outside a roofless mobile home at Lake San Marino RV resort in North Naples as seen on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Hurricane Irma caused severe flooding and damage to mobile homes and trailers in North Naples. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily

Laura Ameiss, 56, wipes sweat from her brow as she begins clearing debris from Hurricane Irma outside her mobile home in Lake San Marino RV resort in North Naples Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Ameiss rode out the hurricane at a friend's three-bedroom condo with seven others, plus a dog and two cats. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily

Donna Gomes, 57, stands outside her boarded up home with her dog Yorkie at Landmark Naples, a mobile home community for seniors in North Naples Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Gomes rode out Hurricane Irma with her husband, three neighbors and two dogs in her home. "It sounded like bombs going off," she said. Gomes said she couldn't believe the damage she saw when she walked outside the next morning, though her home was unscathed. She plans to make "I survived Irma" T-shirts for her neighbors. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily

What was once a scarecrow lays flat in the driveway of a trailer that toppled over at Lake San Marino RV resort in North Naples as seen on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Hurricane Irma caused severe flooding and damage to mobile homes and trailers in North Naples. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily

A sign that reads: "Irma blows" sits on a flooded street in Lake San Marino RV resort in North Naples as seen on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Many people wrote messages to Irma on their boarded-up windows. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily News

Don and Norma Polvere, 79 and 75, sit outside their damaged home at Landmark Naples, a mobile home community for seniors in North Naples Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. The couple found their 1,000-pound storm shutter three houses away. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily

Hurricane Irma ravaged mobile home and trailer park communities in North Naples, as seen at Landmark Naples, a mobile home community for seniors in North Naples on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily News

A dock at Lake San Marino in North Naples was submerged from heavy rains brought on by Hurricane Irma Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Hurricane Irma caused severe flooding and damage to mobile homes and trailers in North Naples. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily

A staircase at Lake San Marino in North Naples was submerged from heavy rains brought on by Hurricane Irma on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Hurricane Irma caused severe flooding and damage to mobile homes and trailers in North Naples. Annika Hammerschlag/Naples Daily News

Alfie Oakes, owner of Oakes Farms, estimates his vegetable crop losses at $1.4 million to $1.6 million. Everything he had planted in Immokalee, is gone, he said, including tomatoes and green peppers.

At one farm, Oakes said his drip irrigation tape was torn out of the ground, dragged across the field and twisted, which he attributes to tornado activity. All of his 17 greenhouses collapsed.

"You always hope for the best. But it was pretty sad out there," he said.

Fortunately, he moved the 5 million transplants that were in the greenhouses to safety ahead of the storm. "Right now they are doing great," he said.

The state's citrus industry is looking at serious damage from Irma — and Southwest Florida could have seen some of the worst of it.

“While the full extent of the impact is still being explored, this is definitely an event with very significant damage to the Florida citrus industry," said Shannon Shepp, executive director of the Florida Department of Citrus. "Before Hurricane Irma there was a good chance we would have more than 75 million boxes of oranges on the trees this season; we now have much less. In some cases growers are dealing with trees out of the ground. Agricultural emergency declarations exist for types of natural disasters like this."

The declaration will allow for an assessment of the damage and for the development of a plan for federal assistance, she said.

"The storm didn't discriminate among large or small growers. It's all based on geography and where you ended up having your grove," Shepp said.

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Ron Hamel, executive vice president of the Gulf Citrus Growers Association, estimated the hurricane knocked 50 percent of the fruit off the region's citrus trees. Statewide he expects the losses to be in the same range, with at least half of this season's wiped out.

"The whole state was in the hurricane-force winds," he said. "But certain areas got heavier intensity. ... The bands pretty much went through the heartlands of the citrus industry."

Many groves are still flooded, leaving already stressed trees standing in water and susceptible to more damage.

Fruit prices were climbing even before the storm hit.

"The prices to growers are certainly going to go up if they have fruit," Hamel said. "But the question is how that's all going to play out. Nobody knows."

Before the storm, growers felt good about the upcoming season. Due to a wet winter last year, they saw a lot of fruit drop from a fungal disease.

"It's a sad state of affairs for the industry after being optimistic going into the season and now having to start the season with a big fruit loss," Hamel said. "It's very unfortunate."

The damage won't just hurt growers. There will be a ripple effect felt throughout the industry affecting processing facilities, packing houses and other related operations. Farmworkers, who are already dealing with personal losses from Irma, may find themselves with less work.

Extensive damage can be seen at Stan's Idle Hour Restaurant Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, after Hurricane Irma passed over in the small coastal community of Goodland. Rodney White, Michael Zamora/The Des Moines Register

Homes are turned into islands Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, near Lehigh High School two days after Hurricane Irma passed through the Lehigh Acres area outside Fort Myers. Rodney White, Michael Zamora/The Des Moines Register

Large vehicles make their way through flooded streets Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, near Lehigh High School two days after Hurricane Irma passed through the Lehigh Acres area outside Fort Myers. Rodney White, Michael Zamora/The Des Moines Register